The Gateway Tower on June 1, 2023, at the intersection of UTA Boulevard and Cooper Street.
File photo / The Shorthorn staff
Campus officials announced plans to provide information and advising to international students after recent changes announced by the Department of Homeland Security Monday.
A new rule that will go into effect on Sept. 15 caps international students’ visas at four years, regardless of the length of their degree program.
The university has provided information to international students through email and a series of Microsoft Teams sessions. The sessions explained the rules, discussed their impact and provided students with the opportunity to ask questions, Shelby Boseman, UTA Chief Legal Officer, said in a campus email.
Students can meet virtually with immigration advising staff without an appointment each Friday in Express advising.
The changes come amid a July 16th ruling titled “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media,” by the Department of Homeland Security.
The following rules will also go into effect Sept. 15:
Students must file a formal Extension of Stay application with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services if they require more than four years to complete their degree.
The post-graduation and post-Optional Practical Training grace period to depart the U.S., transfer schools or change status is being cut in half from 60 days down to 30 days.
Undergraduate students will face strict limits on changing majors or transferring institutions during their first year. Graduate students will face a near-total restriction on changing programs or transferring once enrolled.
Previously, international students were admitted with open-ended status and allowed to remain in the United States as long as they maintained full-time enrollment and complied with the university’s rules.
The university will also establish a task force to collaborate and discuss the implications of the new rules, share perspectives and help inform decisions affecting various areas of the university, Boseman said in the email.
Information sessions for faculty and staff are tentatively scheduled for Aug. 27 and Sept. 7. The sessions are intended to help ensure a shared understanding of the rule across the university.
“Our goal is to provide timely, transparent, and ongoing communication so that everyone remains informed and understands how this rule may affect their area and the University as a whole,” Boseman said.
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